2014 AIChE Annual Meeting
(600a) Direct Synthesis of Dimethyl Ether from CO2 & CO over Bifunctional Methanol Synthesis & Silicotungstic Acid Incorporated Mesoporous Alumina Catalyst Mixtures
Direct synthesis of dimethyl ether was achieved using a bifunctional catalyst pair composed of silicotungstic acid impregnated mesoporous alumina and a copper based methanol synthesis catalyst. Presence of CO2 in the feed stream significantly enhanced DME selectivity, giving a maximum with the feed composition of H2/CO/CO2=50/40/10. DME selectivity values approaching to 0.9 were highly promising.